God Never Blinks 50 Lessons for Life's Little Detours

by Brett, Regina

• ISBN13: 9780446556521
• ISBN10: 0446556521
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-04-13
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Summary

Already an internet phenomenon, these wise and insightful lessons by popular newspaper columnist and Pulitzer Prize finalist Regina Brett will make you see the possibilities in your life in a whole new way. When Regina Brett turned 50, she wrote a column on the 50 lessons life had taught her. She reflected on all she had learned through becoming a single parent, looking for love in all the wrong places, working on her relationship with God, battling cancer and making peace with a difficult childhood. It became one of the most popular columns ever published in the newspaper, and since then the 50 lessons have been emailed to hundreds of thousands of people. Brett now takes the 50 lessons and expounds on them in essays that are deeply personal. From "Don't take yourself too seriously-Nobody else does" to "Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift," these lessons will strike a chord with anyone who has ever gone through tough times--and haven't we all?

Author Biography

Regina Brett has been a newspaper columnist for fourteen years, eight of them for Cleveland's Plain Dealer, where she was a finalist in 2008 and 2009 for the Pulitzer Prize in Commentary. She also hosts a call-in talk show once a week on WCPN, the Cleveland NPR affiliate, and speaks regularly to companies and not-for-profit organizations.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 1
The Fifty Lessons	p. 5
Life isn't fair, but it's still good	p. 7
When in doubt, just take the next right step	p. 10
Life is too short to waste time hating anyone	p. 15
Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does	p. 19
Pay off your credit cards every month	p. 24
You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree	p. 28
Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone	p. 33
It's okay to get angry with God. He can take it	p. 37
The most important sex organ is the brain	p. 42
God never gives us more than we were designed to carry	p. 47
Make peace with your past so it doesn't screw up the present	p. 51
It's okay to let your children see you cry	p. 56
Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about	p. 60
If a relationship has to be kept secret, you shouldn't be in it	p. 65
Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks	p. 70
Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying	p. 74
You can get through anything life hands you if you stay put in the day you are in and don't jump ahead	p. 78
A writer is someone who writes. If you want to be a writer, write	p. 82
It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else	p. 87
When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer	p. 92
Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save anything for a special occasion. Today is special enough	p. 97
Overprepare, then go with the flow	p. 102
Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple	p. 106
Start saving 10 percent for retirement as soon as you get your first paycheck	p. 111
No one else is in charge of your happiness. You are the CEO of your joy	p. 115
Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "In five years, will this matter? "	p. 119
Always choose life	p. 124
Forgive everyone everything	p. 128
What other people think of you is none of your business	p. 133
The passage of time heals almost everything. Give time time	p. 138
No matter how good or how bad a situation is, it will change	p. 143
Your job won't take care of you when you are sick, but your friends will. Stay in touch with them	p. 148
Believe in miracles	p. 152
God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do	p. 155
Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger	p. 160
Growing old beats the alternative. Dying young looks good only in movies	p. 165
Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable	p. 170
Read the Psalms. No matter what your faith, they cover every Human emotion	p. 175
Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting for you to discover	p. 179
If we all threw our problems in a pile and got a look at everyone else's, we'd fight to get back our own	p. 183
Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of now	p. 188
Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful, or joyful	p. 191
All that truly matters in the end is that you loved	p. 194
Envy is a waste of time. You already have everything you truly need	p. 198
The best is yet to come	p. 202
No matter how you feel, get up, dress up, and show up for life	p. 210
Breathe. It calms the mind	p. 214
If you don't ask, you don't get	p. 218
Yield	p. 223
Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift	p. 229
Authors Note	p. 235
Acknowledgments	p. 237
About the Author	p. 241
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